Over the past five years, Wave Rural Connect has closed the digital divide across the River Valley. Customers who have made the switch from unreliable internet service to WAVE’s incomparably superior service, believe their experience to be life changing. WAVE recently surpassed 20,000 subscribers, a monumental achievement in a continual pursuit of providing rural families with access to world-class technology.
Oklahoma native, Emily Hudson and her husband Artie moved to Charleston, Arkansas seven years ago when Artie became the pastor of Charleston First Baptist Church. Everything about Charleston was wonderful—the school, the church family, and the community. For the Hudsons, Charleston felt like home. There was only one drawback—the internet service.
“Our internet provider worked off a ‘party line’ system where our home was one of many attached to the same line,” explains Emily.
That outdated and unreliable system hindered the Hudson family’s abilities to function while working and studying from home, especially during the COVID-19 shutdown.
“I’m a 3rd and 4th grade teacher at Charleston and my kids often have homework assignments online. It was a common occurrence for any of us to get kicked off the internet while trying to work on school assignments,” explains Emily.
Emily knew when she heard about fiber-optic local company, Wave Rural Connect winning a grant to service the town of Charleston, it was a no-brainer to jump headfirst into signing up for service.
Last month, the Hudson household received Wave Rural Connect in their home, becoming the 20,000thcustomer to subscribe for service.
“I absolutely recommend it,” says Emily. “From the moment WAVE was hooked up in our home, it has been reliable, and consistent. It has enhanced [my family’s] ability to take care of school responsibilities after hours.”
She continues, “We finally don’t have to worry about ‘peak’ times It’s so nice to be able to access the internet as needed. WAVE is dedicated to your home.”
Wave Rural Connect continues to close the digital divide for families across the River Valley. The initial buildout will be completed in 2024.
